Merlino’s lives on

CANON CITY — Merlino’s lovers who dream of once again tasting the legendary restaurant’s homemade dressing, sauces and pasta are in for a surprise.

Although the 67-year-old Merlino’s Belvedere restaurant closed at the end of the year, Mike Merlino and his wife Cathie have launched an Internet-based “to go” business that has them shipping their traditional tastes throughout the country.

Merlino was busy recently packaging 50 packets of dry salad dressing mix for shipment to Hawaii and also had an order from Newport Beach, Calif., to fill. It is a blessing to the Merlinos, who have struggled with the hardest part of closing the business — no contact with loyal customers.

“It is great to be keeping something alive and that is why we decided to do the ‘to go’ business. How it works out will depend on volume,” Merlino said.

So far, the business, which is based out of belvedererestaurant.com, offers dry dressing mix for those who want to add their own vinegar and oil or the traditional liquid version of Merlino’s salad dressing.

“The liquid is the closest to getting it fresh at the Belvedere,” Merlino said “We also offer our imported bleu cheese, Romano cheese, our homemade red sauce, sausage and a raw spicy sausage that is absolutely delicious.”

Coming soon will be the homemade spaghetti and cavatelli pastas as well as Merlino’s meatballs, frozen dinners for five and even spumoni ice cream. Kitchen manger Sam Cruz, who has 19 years experience with the restaurant, has stayed on to help the couple launch the Internet business.

“We are not a restaurant any more. We have limited staff because we just don’t know the extent of what the demand will be,” Merlino said.

Merlino plans to keep one kitchen worth of equipment and everything else will be auctioned.

“There are literally thousands of items — some that go back 77 years to the start of the cider mill. Dishes, glasses, pots and pans, utensils, pasta makers, refrigerators, stoves — everything is going,” Merlino said.

The auction will open at 5 p.m. April 18 at rollerauction.com. Buyers can bid online and also can visit the restaurant, 1330 Elm Ave., to view items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 21 and 9 a.m. up until 3 p.m. April 22 when the bidding starts.

Merlino also is selling 16 billboard signs throughout Fremont County. Call 719-275-5558 to inquire about a sign.